Kevin Smith (New Zealand actor)

Infobox actor
name = Kevin Smith


imagesize =
caption =Kevin Tod Smith
birthdate = birth date|1963|3|16|mf=y
location = Auckland, New Zealand
height =
deathdate = death date and age|2002|2|15|1963|3|16|mf=y
birthname = Kevin Tod Smith
othername =
homepage =
notable role =Ares (', ' & "Young Hercules")
Jed ("Shortland Street")

Kevin Tod Smith (March 16, 1963–February 15, 2002) was a New Zealand actor best known for playing the Greek god Ares, of war, in the TV series ' and in its two spin-offs – ' and "Young Hercules".

Smith died in an accident on February 15, 2002, while filming in China.

Biography

His early life

Kevin Smith's mother was Tongan and his father hailed from New Zealand. Smith's family moved to the South Island town of Timaru when he was eleven. He attended Timaru Boys' High School from 1976 to 1979. Drama was an interest throughout high school, and incidentally, in 1979 he was in the drama club alongside future well-known Auckland drag artist Mika (Neil Gudsell).

Smith played in rock and roll bands during high school. He enjoyed painting and loved rugby and hoped to become a member of New Zealand's world-famous rugby team, the All Blacks.

At the age of 17, Smith moved to Christchurch, and worked at various jobs before enrolling in Canterbury University at the age of 20. In 1986 he married his high school sweetheart, Sue, with whom he had three sons: Oscar, Tyrone and Willard.

Career

Smith got into acting by accident: he suffered a brain concussion while playing college rugby union in 1987 and was forced to sit on the sidelines for almost three weeks. His wife saw a casting call advertisement for the touring musical tribute to Elvis Presley, "Are You Lonesome Tonight", and signed up Kevin for an audition. He got the role of bodyguard JoJoe and was the lead understudy.

Later that year, Smith joined Christchurch's Court Theatre and performed on stage for the next three years in a variety of roles including Don Pedro in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire". In 1989, he got the role of charming "bad boy" Demian Vermeer on the New Zealand primetime soap opera "Gloss", and moved to Auckland to work on the series' final season.

In 1993, Smith played Lawrence Hayes in "Desperate Remedies". He then appeared as Paul Cosic in the last two seasons of the primetime drama "Marlin Bay". For this role, he won the 1995 New Zealand Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He screen-tested for the lead role in Paramount's big budget action-film "The Phantom", but the role ultimately went to Billy Zane instead. His fellow "" cast member, low-budget-movie actor and Pacific Renaissance Pictures partner Bruce Campbell, was also one of the contenders for the role of the legendary superhero.

Also in 1995, Smith appeared on "" as Hercules' half-brother, Iphicles. Later he joined the cast of "Xena: Warrior Princess" as Ares, a role he eventually reprised on "Hercules" and "Young Hercules". As the dark and dangerously seductive Greek god of war, Smith gained legions of fans. During this time Kevin performed as Ares on "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys", "Xena: Warrior Princess" and "Young Hercules" simultaneously.

While guest-starring on "Xena", "Hercules" and "Young Hercules", Smith also appeared in other TV shows and films, notably as detective John Lawless in three TV movies: "Lawless" (1999), "Lawless 2: Dead Evidence" (2000), and "Lawless 3: Beyond Justice" (2001).

Smith also continued to act in the theater. During his career he also appeared on several cassettes of alternative music, alongside other musicians, under the band names "The Picnic Boys" and "Say Yes to Apes" which was later renamed "Hyphen-Smythe". He was one of the lead singers of the celebrity band "The Wide Lapels", a band famous for its campy performances of the worst songs of the 1970s.

Death

On February 6, 2002, while waiting for a ride back to the hotel after completing his work on the set of "", Smith decided to walk around the Central China Television film studio grounds and climbed a prop tower on the set of another film. He lost his footing and fell approximately three stories, suffering severe head injuries. Smith was sent to a local hospital, then transferred to Beijing. He lapsed into a coma and was kept on life support for ten days until life support was discontinued. He died on February 15 without regaining consciousness.

Filmography

Starring roles

Guest appearances

External links

*imdb name|id=0808963|name=Kevin Smith
* See Ares/Kevin Smith's props and costumes at [http://xenamuseum.googlepages.com/home The Xena Museum]

Persondata
NAME= Smith, Kevin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Smith, Kevin Tod
SHORT DESCRIPTION= New Zealand television actor known best for his recurring role as Ares in the American television series and .
DATE OF BIRTH= March 16, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH= New Zealand
DATE OF DEATH= February 15, 2002
PLACE OF DEATH= Beijing, China